History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c63.1004

v4.c63.1004

Gambling is one of the most ancient vices. Ṛg. X. 34 is a hymn which contains the lament of a gambler. Elsewhere also in the Ṛg. gambling is referred to. Vide Ṛg. I. 41. 9 (explained in Nirukta III. 16), VII. 86. 6 (where it is said that dice made of Vibhīdaka tree are one of the sources of sin), Ṛg. X. 42. 9, X. 43. 5. In the Atharvaveda also dice and *glaha* occur frequently. Vide Atharva IV. 16. 5, IV. 38 (a hymn for good luck in gambling). In Vāj. S. 30. 18 we have the words 'akṣarājāya kitavam'. In certain solemn sacrifices like the Rājasūya dice play was an important item. Vide H. of Dh. vol. II. p. 1219. Pāṇini teaches the formation of many words relating to gambling. In II.¹⁰⁰⁵ 1. 10 he teaches the formation of *Avyayībhāva* compounds like 'akṣapari' or 'śalākāpari' in the sense 'that loss was caused by one dice being cast in a way different from the way in which it was cast in a prior game'. In IV. 4. 2 he teaches that 'ākṣika' means one who uses dice in gambling or wins by using¹⁰⁰⁶ dice and in IV. 4. 19 he states that 'ākṣadyūtika'¹⁰⁰⁷ means '(enmity) brought about by using dice in gambling'. Vide also Pāṇ. II. 3. 57-58. Āp. Dh. S. II.¹⁰⁰⁸ 10. 25. 12-13 prescribe that in the midst of the sabhā (hall) having raised a table for playing dice one should place thereon dice even in number and made from the vibhītaka wood and that players should be men of the three higher castes, pure and devoted to truth. In the Mahābhārata Yudhiṣṭhira¹⁰⁰⁹ is made to say that it was his vow not to refuse dice play when he was challenged to it. It was well-known that gambling affects the minds even of the good, while in the case of those who were not ordinarily good it led to dissensions and calamities. Many modern people justify the action of Yudhiṣṭhira on the ground that the code of kṣatriya chivalry and morality of those ancient days required that he should not be afraid to play with dice when challenged by an adversary. Conceding for the sake of argument that indulgence in gambling even on the part of such a virtuous, noble and philosophic warrior as Yudhiṣṭhira was justified or at least excusable, there is nothing to show that the code of kṣatriya chivalry permitted him to gamble away his own spirited, devoted and virtuous queen and his four valiant brothers. It appears that the real aim of the great author of the Mahābhārata is to emphasize that gambling is such a reprehensible pastime and so ruinous and degrading that even the greatest and the best, when once they indulge in it, lose all sense of duty, morality and of the claims of love and affection. It has already been seen how gambling was looked upon as a great vice in the king by writers on politics and also on dharmaśāstra. Even the Purāṇas here and there condemn gambling. For example, the Brahmapurāṇa (171. 29-38) condemns it in strong language. It says that the gambler's wife is always in distress and the gambler on seeing the condition of his wife is also worried (this is in almost the same words as Ṛg. X. 34. 10-11), that the Veda condemns gambling and that there is no sin comparable to gambling.